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Puerto Rico

so this year I am using one of my precious weeks of vacation and going to Puerto Rico in November. Where do I want to stay, surf, how to get around, etc. Previous experiences? Worthy advice? lay it on me.

hey, i was in PR two years ago and i loved it. we stayed at a place called the lemon tree. it was a pretty cool place. no fance hotel or anything. it was a five min drive from marias and a little longer to get to sandys and domes. theres a place right near sandys called casa verde. its a hotel and a bar with pretty good food. we rented a car from a place right near the aguadilla airport
hope you enjoy your trip,

Both times I've been I stayed at the Lazy Parrot Inn, nice reasonably priced hotel with two bars, kick a** food and gets to have a pretty nice party scene thursday, friday, and saturday night. Marias, dogmans, and Tres Palmes is about a 2 minutes drive down the hill - The sandy beach area is a few more minutes away the other direction. Definitely check out Pool Bar (Sandy Beach) and Calypso (Marias).

I go to PR every year late season March/April. I take the kids now so we stay south of the point in Rincon- Just south of Marias beach. The North side (Sandy beach) is a little more of a party atmosphere, lots of fun. We fly in from Newark to Aguadilla on Jet Blue. Rent an SUV or van. From that airport your are 5 minutes to the Isabella breaks and about 25 from Rincon. If you fly Philly or Balt. you will have to fly to San Juan. 2 hr 45 min drive minimum. We leave our boards at home and rent. We rent from Hot Wayz surf shop (right at Marias) or my buddy from Brazil. His name is Roger Wagner. Google "Surf787" and his place comes up. He can show you around so you don't get skunked by going to the wrong side of Rincon with the wrong wind, tide, etc.... www.islandmon.com is a cool site to check out as well.

all of the above places are fairly nice and reasonably price. casa verde is half club half hotel so there's a big party scene there. i don't know about your budget, but the nicest i've stayed is at the landing view villas. if you're going with non surfers/partiers its probably a better choice than some of the other places.

casa verde and landing view are both within walking distance to sandy beach and antonio's, and are about a 5 minute drive from marias and domes. marias and domes are basically right next to each other, and if you like big waves tres palmas is just another 3-5 minute drive away. sandy beach and the other spots on the northern side of rincon usually get chopped up by 10 am so you'll probably be surfing more at marias and domes. sandys is sand bottom with stone underneath, marias domes and tres palmas are all reef breaks.

locals are okay, just watch out for the boogieboarders as they can get pretty aggro. if you don't feel like paying for board fees rent from mar azul, right in rincon on the 413http://www.puertoricosurfinginfo.com/ bobby is a really nice guy and will set you up with a good board that you can switch out whenever you want for free. to eat, there's a tapas bar by landing view villas, a bar/grill place down the road, and casa verde right next to that. the lazy parrot is also really good, and there's a bar right on the marias parking lot.

Eat roadside food as much as possible - it's awesome, cheap, and puts money in the right pockets.

The Rincon Area has a bunch of great spots, but that early in the season you might be relying on windswells instead of the big north groundswells of winter and early spring. With that in mind, Jobos and points east along north shore toward San Juan might have better consistency. But get on it early AM or the trades will make a mess of whatever is there by 9 or 10am. If a solid swell arrives, head to the Rincon Area, where it will be offshore.

With that in mind, Jobos and points east along north shore toward San Juan might have better consistency. But get on it early AM or the trades will make a mess of whatever is there by 9 or 10am.

What he said. I always tell people to be mobile because it's easy to get skunked in Rincon. Luquillo Beach area will pick up just about any trade swell when everywhere else is flat, but it's the opposite side of the island.

The Rincon Area has a bunch of great spots, but that early in the season you might be relying on windswells instead of the big north groundswells of winter and early spring. With that in mind, Jobos and points east along north shore toward San Juan might have better consistency. But get on it early AM or the trades will make a mess of whatever is there by 9 or 10am. If a solid swell arrives, head to the Rincon Area, where it will be offshore.

you can score a full week of swell in rincon in november, but later into the winter is usually more consistent. if the aguadilla/isabela areas are breaking, so is rincon, but they're a bit more exposed which is good that early in the season. but like LB said, if you get a good swell go to rincon where marias, domes, tres palmas, and everything in between will be howling offshore. if it gets really really big, tres palmas is the place to be

no matter where you stay, get a car. Puerto Rico is one place, where you absolutely will want to have a car. Can you get a way without having a car, sure, but your way better off traveling around for surf.